06. ARPA policy authorization for Jail Addition

www.casscountynd.gov increase in the number of individuals in the community who have failure to appear warrants. Now as the Courts work through a normal volume of criminal files, there is also a significant increase in the number of arrest warrants for individuals in the community. One of the Sheriff’s Office’s statutory obligations is to apprehend and detain individuals with active warrants. The pressure on the jail to house those who commit crimes now while also working through the on-going backlog of warrants is intense. III. Intended Result Summary: (Describe the intended result of this SLFRF expenditure) In order to address the needs and challenges experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and responsibly scale a housing addition onto the jail facility, Cass County engaged Klein McCarthy Architects to complete a Population Forecast and Design Options masterplan. The plan was delivered in July 2022 and recommends an addition of 96 single bunk cells, half of which have the ability to be remodeled into double bunk cells at a later date. IV. Solution Costs: (Anticipated budget and funding request) The estimated total project cost is between $36,000,000 and $39,000,000. This report applies exclusively to the architectural services and construction administration required to develop building plans and manage this project. The contracted price for Klein McCarthy Architects to complete this task is 6.5% of the total project cost. Based on the estimated construction cost, the design and construction administration cost will be between $2,340,000 and $2,535,000. V. Estimated Beginning & Completion date of project/expenditure: The agreement to engage Klein McCarthy to provide design and construction management services for the Cass County Jail Housing Addition project was considered and approved on October 5, 2022. The timeline anticipates bidding the construction portion of this project in early spring 2023. Due to the construction administration element of this project this engagement will not end until final construction completion and project closeout, scheduled for summer/fall 2025. VI. Program area of the American Rescue Plan: (Authorized use category within Final Rules) Responding to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts Cass County has diligently reviewed the Department of the Treasury Interim Final Rules and Final Rules to verify this expenditure of funds meets the guidelines published in the Federal Register dated January 27, 2022, effective April 1, 2022. The following excerpts from the ‘Final Rule’ document support the conclusion that this is an eligible project: II. Eligible Uses A. Public Health and Negative Economic Impacts Background To assess whether a program or service would be eligible to respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, the interim final rule stated that, ‘‘the recipient [is required] to, first, identify a need or negative impact of the COVID–19 public health emergency and, second, identify how the program, service, or other intervention addresses the identified need or impact [. . . .] [E]ligible uses